We know you’re all probably well into your new year resolutions by now, or have totally given up on them, whether that is exercising more, changing your diet or attempting to change your behaviour in general. So here at West 12 Health we have come up with a few tips and reminders to help you along with your endeavours.
Fad and Instant Weight Loss Diets
Does dieting really work? Well, we would all like to think so. The scale says you’re losing weight, but what is that weight actually made up of?
No doubt you have seen the countless advertisements of diets mentioning ‘rapid’ or ‘instant’ weight loss. There is a huge market out there for slimming products, from shakes and snacks to gums and ketones. The problem is that they are not sustainable in the long term and are completely unrealistic. Let us explain why:
It is only physically possible to lose about 1 KILOGRAM OF FAT IN ONE WEEK – even when the body is severely starved because 1 kilogram of fat contains 1000 kcal a day for seven days under starvation conditions. So how is it possible then that when we step on the scales a week into our crash diet, we have lost significantly more? Well, although our intention is to only lose fat, fad diets that reduce our normal calorie intake too quickly in a short period of time end up with us losing water weight and lean muscle tissue too. The body is shocked by the reduction in calories and assumes that it is being starved – as a result it PRESERVES FAT and BREAKS DOWN MUSCLE instead.
The problem here is then that we are not even close to accomplishing our goal – to lose just fat while maintaining muscle. We are instead breaking down the MOST ENERGY DEMANDING unit in the body – muscle. The complete opposite of what we want. As the body continues to think that it is starving, it breaks down the muscle tissue before the fat, as fat provides more energy, resulting in a lower metabolism and slow down of the fat burning. You may also feel very tired during this time due to the rapid reduction in calories and may be craving for certain foods. When the diet comes to and end, normally there is a rebound binge and the weight quickly returns to what it was, usually more than when the diet started. These are the yo-yo dieters and we recommend that you try your utmost to avoid ‘miraculous’ diets, potions and any other cures.
We suggest a long term behavioural change approach to losing weight. A slower, more progressive approach that involves changing the diet over a longer period of time to avoid cravings along with a progressive exercise regime.
Weight Maintenance?
We will provide an interesting summary of information of the great achievement that weight loss maintenance actually is using a brilliant manual produced by the Weight Management Centre as a main source, along with other complementary sources. A section on weight loss and weight maintenance in this manual provided much food for thought and we thought we would try to break it down for you here.
Weight maintenance may seem like a bit of a strange suggestion but it could be described as being of more importance than weight loss. If we cannot maintain our weight once we have lost it, whats the point in beginning with the weight loss at all? Results of surveys indicate that only ≈20% of people in the general population are successful at long-term weight loss maintenance. Evidently it is a difficult task but a sizeable amount of people do achieve it every year.
What about the emotional impact of having lost it, only to regain it, rather than maintaining what we have? Failed weight loss/dieting often leads to greater total body fat than before the attempted weight loss due to the drop in self esteem at failing to reach and maintain targets and then a return to old pre-weight loss habits.
There are various reasons why weight that is lost is regained:
Plateuing – We can’t lose weight forever. If the weight loss slows and we don’t achieve a target weight we have set, those feelings of failure damage our self esteem and belief that we can lose weight at all. The failure is closely related to body self-image, confidence etc and may affect future attempts to change behaviour. It is important to recognise that there are many other targets we can strive for other than weight loss which would then help with the acceptance of maintaining weight and improving our health, such as increasing active periods, exercise times or changing dietary habits. These are all realistic, achievable goals.
Weight Loss Maintenance is not acknowledged – Not achieving weight loss goals often has a knock on effect mentally that stops them from acknowledging any losses in weight or any other gains/goals they may have achieved, as maintenance is not even a consideration at this point and any attempt at losing weight is done away with.
According to the Weight Management Centre, weight maintenance is the key to success and that developing and practicing weight management skills (distinct to weight loss skills) is crucial. This can be helped by setting more realistic goals when losing weight initially and learning to accept things that can and cannot be changed. Once the weight loss phase is complete, we must accept stabilising our weight rather than continuing weight loss.
Goal Setting – Psychologically, maintaining our weight is more difficult for three reasons:
- maintaining is not losing, so others are less encouraging
- losing weight is a much more short term, time limited goal, compared to maintaining weight
- weight maintenance may involve accepting our weight and body shape that was previously regarded as unacceptable
Therefore, we must remember to CELEBRATE and SUPPORT WEIGHT LOSS MAINTENANCE, just as much, if not more than weight loss. It is difficult to achieve in today’s society where there can be a lot of pressure to look a certain way.
Once we have learned how to maintain weight after losing it and understand that they are separate challenges, it is easier to then attempt further weight loss again in the future.
The importance in the planning of weight loss and maintenance then is a key aspect for those of us smashing away at the treadmills in January, desperate to change our bodies. Here is a quick list of tips:
Set appropriate goals – weight loss is not forever, so when it begins to slow down, remember that the body is adapting and so you must adapt by maintaining your weight to avoid putting back on what you have lost.
Good nutrition is key – Speak to an expert (dietician/nutritionist) before embarking on your journey as often following quick and instant weight loss diets found in magazines, papers and on the internet are impossible to stick to long term. You may also be doing yourself more harm than good by losing lean muscle mass. Too much of any macroingredient in the diet is not good, so beware of diets that have a huge amount of PROTEINS, CARBOHYRDATES OR FATS. The aim is a healthy balance between all three.
Physical activity is a must – The benefits of exercise go far beyond the physical and can change out psychological state too, making us feel better about ourselves. It is an important predictor of weight loss maintenance along with the healthy eating.
Don’t be obsessed with the numbers on the scale – Remember that it is only possible to lose roughly 1 kilo of FAT per week and that is what we are aiming for, not loss of muscle tissue and an excessive amount of water. Muscle weighs more than fat so getting a more detailed composition of our body is more accurate an assessment.
Don’t listen to the crowd – Know that everyone is on their own journey to get to their desired weight. It takes time for your body to change. Remember that weight loss maintenance is just as important, if not more than weight loss – as it is whether we maintain our weight that will determine whether the attempt at losing it was a success or futile activity. Studies illustrate that the single best predictor of risk of regain was how long participants had successfully maintained their weight loss. Individuals who had kept their weight off for 2 years or more had markedly increased odds of continuing to maintain their weight over the following year. So remember this is long term, for life and not for the short term – 2 YEARS, THE MAGIC NUMBER.
WEIGHT LOSS MAINTENANCE then is something to be encouraged and celebrated. The health benefits of losing weight and keeping it off are well documented. All that is left to say is good luck, we hope this helped to provide a different insight into your goals for the new year. All the best.
West 12 Health Centre
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